Chapter 274: Xiao Qidi Meets a Trouble‑Seeker

A few nurses carefully cleaned Ning Yao's gangrenous wounds, completely unaware that something was wrong.

The person in charge and all the doctors in the Medical Research Institute gathered in the monitoring room, with expectant expressions, eyes fixed on the surveillance feed.

In the operating theater, Ning Yao opened her eyes and suddenly sat up.

The nurses jumped in shock, but steadied themselves, soothing her while busily attending to their tasks.

A blood‑thirsty gleam flashed in Ning Yao's eyes; without warning she seized a nurse, opened her mouth, and viciously bit the nurse's neck.

Fresh blood spurted out, and Ning Yao greedily sucked it.

Some nurses screamed in terror, others rolled and crawled to flee, but when they tried to push the door, they found the operating room door already locked.

Fear and despair instantly engulfed the nurses.

The nurse whose neck Ning Yao had bitten struggled desperately, yet Ning Yao seemed to possess boundless strength, crushing the nurse's arm until it fractured.

The nurse's complexion turned visibly pallid; seconds later even the lips lost their color, and she finally became a cold corpse, completely drained of blood.

After sucking the blood, the wound on Ning Yao's leg began to heal rapidly.

She was not yet satisfied, licked the crimson corner of her mouth, and lunged at the next target.

The operating room turned into a living hell.

The nurses were no match for her; one after another they were drained dry.

Only after Ning Yao's injuries fully healed did she slowly exhale a cloud of blood‑scented vapor, her eyes losing the red glare and gradually regaining sanity.

"What… is happening?"

Ning Yao was also startled by the scene, crouching to grab a nurse's shoulder and shaking, "Hey! What's wrong with you all?!"

As for what just occurred, she had no recollection at all and had no idea what she had done.

The operating room's main door swung open at that moment.

The person in charge entered briskly with a few doctors.

Ning Yao panicked, "What happened here? Why did they all die?!"

The person in charge smiled, soothing, "Miss Ning, you need not be afraid; it was just a minor accident earlier. How are you feeling now?"

Ning Yao held her forehead, "I feel… dizzy, my mind is chaotic…"

The person in charge gave a subtle signal to the doctor beside him.

A doctor, with a syringe prepared in sight, administered an injection to Ning Yao.

Ning Yao trusted them, offered no resistance, and simply asked, "What did you give me?"

The person in charge said, "It's a calming medicine, Miss Ning. We have already cured you, so please rest assured."

Before the words finished, Ning Yao's body went limp, collapsing to the floor and falling into a deep sleep.

——

When Ning Yao woke up again, it was already the next morning.

She opened her eyes, stared blankly for a few seconds, then quickly sat up and looked around.

She now found herself in a private ward.

The ward's layout was unremarkable, and from the view outside the window one could tell it was still inside the Medical Research Institute.

"Awake now? Do you feel any discomfort?" Lu Xingfeng, who had been cross‑legged in meditation, opened his eyes, rose, and came to the bedside.

Ning Yao touched her stomach, "I'm a little hungry…"

Lu Xingfeng's face showed a relieved expression, "It seems you're truly fine. Those doctors didn't lie to me; I'll get you something to eat right away."

When Lu Xingfeng left the ward, Ning Yao pulled up her pant leg and looked.

The calf she remembered as a bloody mess now showed no trace of injury, as if it had never been hurt.

Ning Yao was not surprised by this.

In this special institute, the medical experts dispatched by M Guo possessed black‑tech medicine that could restore injuries so well; it was unsurprising.

Yet she vaguely felt something odd: terrifying images kept flashing in her mind.

They were hazy, she couldn't recall them clearly.

The vision was blood‑red, vaguely showing a few nurse‑like figures screaming in terror.

Ning Yao tried hard to recall, but her head began to ache, so she gave up.

After a while, Lu Xingfeng came over carrying a nutritious meal prepared by the institute's chef.

Ning Yao ate while asking him whether anything strange had happened after she fell unconscious.

Lu Xingfeng shook his head, "Probably not. After you passed out you stayed in the operating room; once the surgery ended, the doctors transferred you to the ward, and I've been here the whole time. What's wrong? Why are you asking that?"

Ning Yao said, "It must have been a nightmare… The nightmare felt too real, and I thought…"

Lu Xingfeng laughed, "You were probably frightened by that monster, Ning Yao. In the future, don't play with such dangerous things."

Ning Yao pursed her lips, nonchalantly saying, "Danger is what makes it fun; otherwise it's boring. As long as Uncle Lu is protecting me, no matter how dangerous, I'll be fine, right, Uncle Lu?"

Lu Xingfeng, unable to laugh or cry, patted her hair and gently said, "Yes, I'll protect you."

The two were unaware that, at that moment, the institute's scientists were holding blood samples taken from Ning Yao's body and commencing a new round of genetic modification experiments…

…

Time slipped by.

Two months later.

An Guo, caught in a pincer between Daxuan and You Guo, was completely unable to resist and finally fell.

According to the agreement between Daxuan and You Guo, after jointly destroying An Guo, the Royal City of An Guo went to Daxuan, and the lands nearer You Guo, demarcated by the city, were assigned to You Guo, while the rest went to Daxuan.

For Xiao Qidi, annexing You Guo was inevitable, but after seizing half of An Guo's territory, considerable time was needed for governance; it was better to pause, settle the populace, and let them recuperate.

Xiao Qidi incorporated the half of An Guo's land he obtained into the former Wasteland Nation's borders, establishing Xingbei Province, appointing Mu Cheng as Governor of Xingbei to oversee all civil, security, and military affairs, under cabinet supervision.

Xiao Qidi spread a map on the table, reflecting that in less than a year, with Ning Jingli's help, he had already destroyed Yu Guo, Wasteland Nation, and An Guo, and couldn't help feeling as if he were dreaming.

The speed was too fast, so fast it felt somewhat dazed.

Without Ning Jinli's strong support, even if he had the will, he lacked the strength.

Limited by the era's productivity, each battle could drain the nation's vitality; a moment's carelessness could turn even captured territory into a burden.

With every bit of territorial expansion, the required administrative effort, manpower, material resources, finances, etc., would increase exponentially.

Moreover, as territory grew, transportation and information transmission, etc., would become increasingly difficult.

For example, according to this era's transportation capacity, traveling from the northernmost point of Daxuan's territory to the southernmost point is over 1,200 kilometers in a straight line; if calculated by actual passable roads, one would have to wind around for over 3,000 kilometers to get there. Even sending a letter by light carriage and fast horse, with no obstacles or accidents, the ideal scenario would still take about half a year.

Fortunately, Ning Jinli brought various technologies and advanced tools from her world.

This allowed Daxuan's development to advance explosively, with productivity increasing at an unimaginable speed every day.

By now, Lin Xian Cheng has achieved citywide electricity; as Ning Jinli would say, it marks the initial stage of crossing into the electrification era.

Thus, Lin Xian Cheng also became the vanguard development base for all of Daxuan.

All the new technologies and concepts that Ning Jinli brought from her era are first tested in Lin Xian Cheng; once a suitable way to adapt to the present is found, they are then promoted nationwide.

Whether heavy industry, light industry, modernized agriculture, transportation, healthcare, education, etc., all quickly took root, sprouted, and grew into towering trees bearing fruit in Lin Xian Cheng.

Everything was proceeding swiftly and in an orderly manner.

The pace of annexing the vassal states of Zhong Yuan was temporarily slowed, leaving only the states of Ze, You, and Bo; hostilities have now ceased, Daxuan's focus shifted to internal development, and Xiao Qidi could finally catch his breath for a while.

Thus, he changed into modern clothing, passed through the palace where Ning Jinli had opened the Time-Space Gate, and arrived at the small warehouse of Ning Jinli's factory.

This time he came without prior notice, intending to give Ning Jinli a small surprise.

After all, he hadn't been here for two or three months.

However, Ning Jinli wasn't at the factory at the moment.

Xiao Qidi called Ning Jinli's foster mother, Su Qinglan, to inquire, and learned that Ning Jinli was about to attend a university alumni gathering, having just left a few minutes before his call.

Xiao Qidi then asked for the address and also planned to go take a look.

It was past seven in the evening.

Xiao Qidi exited the subway station and walked straight to the front door of a high-end hotel, which was exactly the venue of Ning Jinli's gathering.

Many luxury cars were parked outside, each of different makes and models.

Xiao Qidi thought they looked quite nice and couldn't help walking over to admire them.

At that moment, a red supercar sped straight toward Xiao Qidi; if not for his quick reflexes, he would have been flung away on the spot.

Accompanied by a sharp braking sound, the red supercar drifted and skidded to a stop exactly where he had been standing.

Xiao Qidi frowned slightly, coldly staring at this reckless sports car.

"You damn blind? Looking to die?" a greasy-haired, powder-faced young man jumped out of the car and began shouting at Xiao Qidi.

Xiao Qidi said in a low voice: "You nearly hit me, yet you blame me for not having eyes? I think you're the one asking for death."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried immense pressure.

Moreover, his towering, iron‑like physique added to his intimidating presence.

The greasy‑haired young man felt an inexplicable jolt in his heart.

From the sports car came a cheerful laugh: "Kai‑ge, I've never seen anyone dare to talk back to you before."

The greasy‑haired young man had specially brought a freshly‑picked model out for a meal, but as soon as he parked he ran into this situation, instantly feeling his dignity slip away.

He stalked over with a dark face and menacing aura, grabbed Xiao Qidi's collar, and demanded, "What did you just say?"

"I don't want to cause trouble," Xiao Qidi said, lowering his gaze to lock eyes with him, "let go of your hand."

The greasy‑haired man, standing 1.8 meters tall, had no advantage before Xiao Qidi; even if he acted tough, he had to crane his neck upward, looking particularly lacking in aura.

At this moment, feeling that Xiao Qidi didn't take him seriously at all, he grew even more furious, grabbed Xiao Qidi's collar with both hands, and suddenly exerted force.

Unfortunately, he mustered all his strength like a suckling infant, yet Xiao Qidi didn't budge an inch.

Xiao Qidi smirked, slowly reaching out to seize his collar.

"Is this what you want?"

His words fell.

The greasy‑haired man was lifted single‑handedly by Xiao Qidi and effortlessly thrown to the ground.

The curly‑haired woman in the red supercar jumped in fright, hurried over to support the greasy‑haired man, and whispered, "Kai‑ge, forget it, forget it…"

"Screw your mother!" the greasy‑haired man, flushed with shame and anger, shoved the woman aside, rose, and swung his fist at Xiao Qidi.

Xiao Qidi stood unmoving like a mountain and also threw a punch.

Bang!

A muffled thud.

Their fists collided.

Xiao Qidi's face showed no expression.

The greasy‑haired man stared blankly for two seconds, clutching his fist and jumping while shouting.

This punch was a hard‑on‑hard clash; Xiao Qidi didn't even use force, nor did he employ Internal Skill, yet it broke two of the greasy‑haired man's finger bones, causing him excruciating pain.

"Kai‑ge, are you alright?!" the curly‑haired woman, terrified, nevertheless mustered courage to approach.

Seeing the greasy‑haired man's fingers deformed, she suggested sending him to the hospital.

The greasy‑haired man, both pained and angry, raised his left hand and slapped the woman's face, shouting, "Want to watch me make a fool of myself? Get lost!"

The woman covered her face, shocked and aggrieved, "I… I was just worried about your injury…"

"Get out of my way!" the greasy‑haired man kicked her in the stomach.

The woman stumbled and fell; even her exquisite, high‑end, form‑fitting long dress could not conceal her disheveled state.

Witnessing this, Xiao Qidi's gaze grew even colder.

The greasy‑haired man wiped the sweat beading from his face due to the intense pain, pulled a metal baseball bat from the red supercar, and strode toward Xiao Qidi with a ferocious glare, declaring, "I want to see whether your skull is harder or my bat is!"

Xiao Qidi showed an expression of looking at an idiot.

He really couldn't figure out what was going on in such a person's head, why they had to be so unreasonable and irrational.

If it were in his world, this guy would already be a corpse.

But in the modern world, it's inconvenient for him to directly take someone's life.

Otherwise, being caught by the surrounding cameras would inevitably cause unnecessary trouble.

As the oil-headed man approached, brandishing a baseball bat, Xiao Qidi suppressed his displeasure, stepped back and said: "If you want compensation, I can give you medical expenses and damages for mental distress; let's drop this matter, how about that?"

However, his retreat only made the oil-headed man more eager.

"Compensation?! You fucking insulting me? Do I look like someone short on money?" the oil-headed man roared, "I will definitely kill you!"

Whoosh—

The oil-headed man mustered all his strength, swung the baseball bat, and smashed it hard toward Xiao Qidi's forehead.

The speed that seemed swift appeared as slow as a snail to Xiao Qidi.

Xiao Qidi calmly sidestepped to avoid the bat.

The oil-headed man couldn't control his force, and the bat struck the luxury car beside him.

Bang!

The car window shattered instantly.

"You still dare to dodge?!" the oil-headed man shouted, furious beyond containment.

Xiao Qidi felt helpless, "Is it that if you hit me with a stick, you'll let me go?"

The oil-headed man's expression grew more ferocious, "That works; you take a hit from me, and we'll call it even."

Xiao Qidi stood with his hands behind his back, "Fine, I won't dodge."

"Go die!" the oil-headed man gritted his back teeth, then swung the bat again hard at Xiao Qidi's temple.